Ekkalak Paenoi confessed to the crime Saturday in a livestream video after being charged with premeditated homicide and unauthorized possession of weapons.
Lim Kimya, a former lawmaker from the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was killed by a motorcyclist on Tuesday as he arrived in Bangkok by bus from Cambodia together with his French spouse.
Cambodian opposition figures have accused the nation’s highly effective former chief Hun Sen of ordering the taking pictures, though a authorities spokesman denied official involvement.
Ekkalak, who Thai media mentioned was a former marine, was arrested in Cambodia on Wednesday, earlier than being extradited to Thailand on Saturday.
“The killer mentioned he took this job to pay a debt of gratitude to somebody who had helped him throughout a troublesome time after he was fired from the navy,” mentioned Attaporn Wongsiripreeda, a senior Bangkok police official.
Some Thai media studies say he was paid 60,000 baht ($1,700), however Attaporn advised an area broadcaster that Ekkalak mentioned he had not acquired the cost.
Attaporn declined to elaborate when requested by AFP.
Another senior police official mentioned Saturday that an arrest warrant had additionally been issued for a Cambodian confederate.
During a court docket listening to on Monday, police will search to put Ekkalak, who labored as a motorcycle taxi driver, in pre-trial detention.
Dozens of Cambodian opposition activists have fled to Thailand in recent times to keep away from alleged repression at dwelling. Some had been arrested and deported to the nation.
Hun Sen has dominated Cambodia with an iron fist for practically 4 many years, with human rights teams accusing him of utilizing the authorized system to crush opposition to his rule.
He resigned and handed over energy to his son Hun Manet in 2023, however remains to be seen as a significant energy within the kingdom.
On Tuesday, Hun Sen known as for a brand new regulation to label anybody who tries to overthrow Hun Manet’s authorities as a “terrorist”.
